Spending money certainly isn't a bad thing for the Royals, I don't think anybody is saying that, but the thing is, there are just so many better ways to spend this money (why weren't they in on the bidding for Burnett last year? That was the same contract.). Gil Meche has been a mediocre pitcher his entire career, and just because he's 28 with a high fastball (basically the only guy with the same combo of youth+speed in the market this year), it doesn't mean he's suddenly going to drop his ERA below 4, or be any better than he has done in the past. The fact of the matter is his ERA+ was only 97 last year, in the best year of his career. That's the definition of mediocre. As a Jays fan, I was ready to call it a terrible deal if it was anywhere over 4 years/32M. He's actually a worse pitcher than Ted Lilly (and many of you know how I feel about his mediocrity), but received far more than he did.. The Royals actually offered the guy 15M more than anybody else did. It would be understandable to actually bid like this for somebody good, somebody you atleast know will be a good pitcher/hitter for you, but Meche is not that sure thing, he's not even close.

relevant portion.....The AL Central just gets better and better. And while no one has paid much attention, even the Royals are trying to make a move.

Not that new GM Dayton Moore didn't seem to overpay drastically for the enigmatic Gil Meche (five years, at a reported $55 million). But you can tell Moore came from Atlanta, because he just keeps stockpiling arms. Already this winter, he has brought in Meche, Bannister, Ken Ray, Wayne Franklin and Dewon Brazelton. And Miguel Batista might not be far behind.

Nobody in there is exactly Glavine, Maddux or Smoltz. But assuming enough of those pitchers turn into a real staff at some point, this team could actually be a force when masher Billy Butler and minor league player of the year Alex Gordon arrive in the next year or so. No kidding.

And this was posted BEFORE the Dotel news.

None of those guys he is bringing in are what you would call an impact pitcher (Meche included). They are all mediocre at best (Meche included) and while they are better than what they had, I don't see them helping the Royals compete any time soon. And now they are 55M lighter in their pocketbook for the next 5 years to fight for last place.

"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." ~George Carlin